SGMA could help secure safe and reliable water for disadvantaged communities dependent on groundwater, while forcing farmers to reduce their crop production. But that’s only if SGMA goes as planned, and it might not.

Scientists explore the impact of climate change and what could happen if global warming exceeds 1.5 degrees. Discover how the latest innovations and technology are posing potential solutions and what individuals can do to prevent further damage.

“Our nation has come a long way, and we still have a long way to go.” said Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray, pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church of Los Angeles during the 1992 Uprising.

The Watts Uprising and the 1992 L.A. Rebellion were both fiery chapters in L.A.’s history. Many are asking, “how could history have repeated itself?” To answer that question, we delve into the events that conspired to create more conservative reforms.

Many observers have been shocked by the extreme brutality with which police departments have responded to the mostly peaceful protests. Activist Tamika Mallory says the militarized police response is not a new development.

Local youths are given the opportunity to voice concerns with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer about schools, their city and how to navigate life during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

"Tending Nature" shines a light on the environmental knowledge of indigenous peoples across California by exploring how the state's Native peoples have actively shaped and tended the land for millennia.

Even after several months of messaging from the conservative movement that solar power, in the wake of Solyndra, is an expensive failure, more than 9 in 10 Americans think it's important that the U.S. develop more solar power generating capacity. That's according to a poll by Hart Research Associates that was announced this week.

The poll of 1,206 likely voters in the 2012 elections, conducted between September 4 and 9, found that 92% of respondents thought it was either very important (58%) or somewhat important (34%) for the U.S. to "develop and use solar power." A surprising 84% of Republicans agreed, as did 98% and 95% of Democrats and independents, respectively.

Seventy-four percent of respondents said that energy was either "very important" or "one of the most important" issues to them in the run-up to the election, while 85% had either a very favorable or somewhat favorable opinion of solar energy in general, making it the most popular energy source mentioned in the poll. The only energy source that came close in popularity was wind, at 82%. Coal came in last at a relatively miserable 32%.

And even as politicos keep to talking points that slam federal funding of solar companies, 64% of respondents said that the federal government should provide financial incentives for solar energy production, again beating all other renewable and conventional energy resources in popularity. Only 20% of voters said that no form of energy should get government subsidies.

Geoff Garin, president of Hart Research Associates, said, "These results clearly show that American voters across the political spectrum have a strong favorable view of solar energy and the solar industry, and they believe that government has an important role to play in allowing this industry to grow and succeed."

For ongoing environmental coverage in March 2017 and afterward, please visit our show Earth Focus, or browse Redefine for historic material.
KCET's award-winning environment news project Redefine ran from July 2012 through February 2017.

Los Angeles County health and elected officials again highlighted disparities in COVID-19 deaths among black residents today and also warned that a recent uptick in transmission rates could result in a lack of sufficient ICU beds in coming weeks.

From the shoreline to downtown and beyond, thousands of Southland residents came out in force again today in protest of police brutality and in condemnation of the death of George Floyd while being arrested by a white police officer in Minneapolis.